SINGAPORE – About a year out from the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), Singapore teenager Loy Ming Ying and her family weighed up a difficult yet necessary decision.

Ming Ying’s parents had raised the possibility of their daughter taking a leave of absence from school in 2026, as the YOG dates coincided with those of the O-level examinations.

After much persuasion, Singapore Sports School student Ming Ying agreed.

At the Dakar Expo Center in Senegal this week, that gap-year gamble has paid off for the 16-year-old, who went on a heroic run to win a YOG silver medal.

On Nov 5, Ming Ying’s journey ended after the 10th seed lost to Taiwanese fifth seed Chen Min-hsin in the girls’ singles final.

Her 4-2 (5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 12-10) defeat capped an inspiring campaign that had seen the Singaporean outplay three higher-ranked opponents.

While a crestfallen Ming Ying was in tears at the mixed zone after the final, the teenager also felt proud to have come so far.

“I took a gap year to play this competition (so) to be able to medal, my hard work this year has paid off,” she said.

“It (the run to the final) definitely gave me a bit more confidence because I won (against) a few people that I have lost to before.

“I’m sad that I lost the final match, but still happy I got a silver medal. I didn’t even expect to get a silver. I’m happy to be able to fly the Singapore flag.”

Going into the gold-medal match, Min-hsin held the psychological advantage, as the 17-year-old led Ming Ying 3-0 in their head-to-head record.

While the Singaporean won the first game and fought back to make it 2-2, the match eventually got away from her.

On what made the final challenging, Ming Ying said: “I couldn’t really receive her (opponent’s) service towards the end.”

In the International Table Tennis Federation Under-19 girls’ singles world ranking, Min-hsin is ranked 22nd while Ming Ying is No. 43.

Her silver medal matches the Republic’s best performance in table tennis at the quadrennial event in 2010, when Isabelle Li finished second to Chinese top seed Gu Yuting at the inaugural YOG hosted by Singapore.

Ming Ying had earlier on Nov 5 defeated second seed Su Tsz Tung of Hong Kong in the semi-finals.

Tsz Tung, 17, had beaten Ming Ying in their previous three encounters, but the Singaporean won 4-2 (5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9), while Min-hsin swept top seed Miku Matsushima of Japan 4-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6) in the other semi-final.

En route to the semis, Ming Ying had also overcome India’s eighth seed and Asian youth medallist Syndrela Das 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6) in the last 16, before defeating French fourth seed and European youth champion Nina Guo 4-1 (13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 13-11) in the quarter-finals.

The Singaporean had qualified for the knockout stages after finishing second in Group 7 with two wins and a loss from three matches.

“I’m proud because in the group round, I was really nervous. I’m proud of myself that I could overcome the challenges from getting second in group, and slowly play better,” said Ming Ying, who will fly back to Singapore before heading to Kuala Lumpur for the Nov 10-14 South East Asian Table Tennis Championships.

Ming Ying’s mother Wong Chock Ching, who was in Dakar to witness her daughter’s remarkable run to the final, felt that the family’s decision for the teen to take a leave of absence from school had been vindicated.

The family planned Ming Ying’s school leave around the Youth Olympics and Wong, 55, revealed that her daughter initially questioned the gap year.

“She wasn’t that keen. All kids like to go (up) as a group,” said Wong.

“When we discussed her stopping school for this year, knowing she would study in Sec 4 with her juniors upon returning, it wasn’t an easy decision (for her).

“But she listened to the reason, we talked about it, and then she bit the bullet.”

Wong felt the gap year strengthened Ming Ying’s skills and ability to compete under pressure.

“She has definitely improved in terms of ability to handle pressure, to compete. I think her skill level has improved. If not for the gap year, she wouldn’t have improved so much,” said Wong, who also credited the Singapore Table Tennis Association for its support.

Wong hopes that her daughter will recognise the value of “all the hours spent training” and appreciate how much she has gained over the past year.

“Before she came here, she said, ‘Mum, if I do not get a medal, I’m a failure’,” revealed Wong.

“I had to tell her, ‘Darling, the definition of success and failure is not only a medal.

“You have improved so much through the year so this leave of absence is not a waste of time; you have met so many people and gone to so many competitions’.”

Ming Ying, who picked up the sport when she was five, has risen steadily through the ranks after producing creditable showings on the international stage that have belied her youth.

At 13, she became the youngest player to win a Singapore Smash singles match by beating France’s Audrey Zarif 3-1 in the first round of qualifying at the 2024 tournament.

In 2025, she was part of the women’s national team who won an Asian Team Championships bronze, besides clinching a SEA Games women’s team silver and women’s doubles bronze with Ser Lin Qian, on her major Games debut.

The teenager has had a memorable 2026, winning the SEA Youth Championships U-19 girls’ singles title in April, before making her Asiad debut in September.

Ming Ying’s silver is Singapore’s second medal at the 2026 YOG, after wushu exponent Ng Zhe Nin, 16, struck gold in the women’s taijiquan combined event on Nov 3.

Both girls, who were roommates in Dakar, have known each other since childhood and had studied together at Elias Park Primary School.

“I watched her finals match and she said she would watch my match when she touches down in Singapore,” added Ming Ying.

The Oct 31-Nov 13 Dakar Games were initially supposed to take place in 2022, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the ongoing Games, Singapore are represented by 14 athletes competing in archery, athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, fencing, artistic gymnastics, sailing, table tennis and wushu.